This invention relates to distinguishing inflamed bladder tissue from cancerous bladder tissue.
Transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the bladder is one of the more common cancers of both men and women in the United States. In 1995, for example, approximately 50,000 new cases were diagnosed, and about 11,000 individuals died of the disease.
In approximately 50 to 65% of cases, TCC lesions are superficial at presentation; however, despite apparently adequate transurethral resection of the tumor, the recurrence rate is about 55 to 70%. Since early malignant and dysplastic lesions are often invisible or barely visible, random biopsies are often recommended in addition to resection of the visible tumor to more accurately diagnose and/or stage the bladder tumor.
Diagnosis and staging of early stage bladder dysplasia can be complicated by the presence of inflamed tissue in the bladder. The similar appearance of inflamed tissue and the early stages of bladder cancer, such as carcinoma in situ, can make it difficult to distinguish between these lesions and cancerous cells. Thus, early malignant and dysplastic lesions can be overlooked because their appearance is similar to that of inflamed tissue.